Poled miniature relay with two-bladed pivoted armature



AU8- 25, 1970 u. RAUTr-:RBERG 3,525,958

PoLED MINIATURE RELAY WITH Two-BLADED PIVOTED ARMATURL:

Filed Nov. 29. 1968 BY ATTYS.

United States Patent() U.S. Cl. 335-153 4 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A miniature relay having two pairs of contacts, the cooperating contacts being diagonally disposed in relation to one another and contacted by a V-shaped combination armature and contact which has no physical support or pivot point. f

p i BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to electromagnetic switching devices and is particularly directed to an electromagnetic relay having a floating or pivoting armature.

Description of the prior art It is generally known to employ a' pivoted armature in an electromagnetic relay of double-blade design wherein the corresponding arrangement of the flux-conducting parts provides a pair of operating air gaps ,in which the operative forces of attraction become effective. It is also known in the prior art that the armature -of one relay not only operates one contact arrangement directly, but that the armature itself may be utilized `as a switch member connected in at least one vutilization circuit. In electromagnetic relays heretofore'known, the armature has a mechanical armature positioning means formed for example by a bearing pin or by a correspondingly designed bearing spring. Any mechanical positioning of an armature, however, causes a bearing friction, which in many cases is not negligible; this is particularly evident in relays vwhich possess a high sensitivity in response and for relays of compact design. In the design of miniaturized relays it frequently becomes diicult to provide for an adjustment of the armature thereof in that the adjustment valves do not always remain constant in the case of mechanical positioningtechniques so that the operating data of the relay may undergo detrimental changes. It is therefore desirable and one of the lprimary objects of the present invention to provide a miniature relay .which eliminates friction at the armature and requires no mechanical adjustments of the armature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a poled miniature relay is provided in which a- V-shaped pivoted armature is positioned with its ends disposed between contact elements which are arranged in contact pairs aligned diagonally with respect to oneanother, the armature being used for both flux guidance and electrical circuit completion functions. The armature is positioned between the contacts in a oating relation thereto so that the armature is without any physical bearing and is therefore free of friction, the resting position, or positions, of the armature being achieved by premagnetization of the/ magnetically conductive contact elements by a plurality of permanent magnets which are located between fparallel extending pairs of Contact elements, the elements being `of different electrical circuits.

The primary difference between a relay constructed according to the present invention and relays which are known from the prior art, and accordingly one feature of the present invention, resides in the provision of a pivoted armature which is shackled neither by a rigid shaft nor by a bearing spring but which is a loosely inserted part of the electrical and magnetic systems of the relay. Inasmuch as the armature isnot fastened, it need not be adjusted in any manner. The armature is maintained in its prevailing rest position by magnetic forces whereby, during the switching operation from one resting position on to the other resting position, the armature undergoes a free rotation and an automatic adjustment takes place upon the adherence of the contacting elements for each switching operation. Also, as previously pointed out, the armature carries out the above-described movements without experiencing any forces of friction.

The construction of a relay in accordance with the principles of the present invention is also simplified by the fact that the Contact elements are also used for guiding the magnetic flux. Consequently, the number of individual components needed for such a miniature relay is particularly small. Also, the shaping of the magnetically conductive individual components such as contact elements and armatures, is provided in a manner that these elements can be produced by bending and/or stamping operations. The polarizing permanent magnets needed for achieving a poled operating behavior of a relay in accordance with the present invention can be synchronized accordingly for the adjustment of the desired response energization by subjecting these permanent magnets to a partial demagnetization. Such demagnetizations can be provided after the relay has been completely assembled so that a plurality of relays of a single construction may each undergo different partial demagnetization to provide, with a single relay construction, a plurality of relay products.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a pair of permanent magnets of identical polarization, each of which is inserted in a locking engagement between the I contact element of dilferent electrical circuits. Furthermore, at least one contact element of a magnetic circuit pair is bent so that one of its surfaces will mate with a corresponding contact surface of the armature in a parallel relation while at the same time the V-shaped of the armature provides for a similar parallel mating relation with the other contact of the same magnetic circuit. The forms of the armature and two of the contact elements therefore provide a most favorable mating of surfaces and a guiding of ux between the elements of the electric and magnetic circuits.

To control the operation of the poled relay according to the invention it is advantageous to employ an energizing lield which is operative axially of the relay whereby the energizing eld is reversible by reversing the exciting current for switching the armature from resting position to the other resting position. It is also advantageous to locate the relay system within a housing or protective tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention, its organization, construction and opera- DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing a relay is shown as comprising contact elements 2, 3, 4 and 5 which are arranged in electrical and magnetic pairs within a protective tube 9. Contact elements 2 and S are provided for a first electrical circuit and contact elements 3 and 4 are provided for a second electrical circuit.

Contact elements 2 and 3 are also provided to form a first magnetic circuit along with permanent magnet 6 which is disposed therebetween and which is electrically insulative between elements 2 and 3. Contact elements 4 and likewise form a second magnetic circuit with per? manent maget 7 disposed therebetween, magnet 7 also being electrically insulative between these contact elements. The magnetic fiux provided in each magnetic circuit for polarizing the relay is referenced QD. This polarizing flux is seen to traverse the corresponding magnetic circuits and the air gap between, for example, the bent section of element 2 and the adjacent end section of element 3.

A V-shaped armature 1 is positioned in the air gaps between contact elements 2, 3, 4 and 5 with its ends 1a and 1b forming pairs of contacts at its upper and lower surfaces, these ends 1a and 1b being positioned between contact elements 4, y5 and 2, 3, respectively. It can easily be determined from the above description and the drawing that the relay is constructed in symmetry and that the elements thereof form a mirror image about the center of gravity of the armature 1.

The possible resting positions of the pivoted armature 1 are such that the diagonally opposite contact elements 2, 5; 3, 4) are connected electrically and magnetically which establishes third and fourth magnetic circuits. As a result of the -ux of the permanent magnets 6 and 7 which are polarized in the same direction, an adhesive effect of being determined by the field strength of the possible rest positions, the magnitude of the adhesive effect of being determined by the field strength of the permanent magnets 6 and 7. The effective fluxes resulting by an operational superposition of permanent flux and exciting flux @E are shown in the drawing, the exciting flux @E being completed through air around the exciting winding 8. If the resulting ux is larger in the operating air gaps than at the contact points between the pivoted armature and contact elements, the pivoted armature 1 lifts off at both ends 1a and 1b and rotates about its center of gravity, and without the aid of any mechanical supporting structure, into the other resting position. The reversal of the pivoted armature 1 in either case, and thus the distribution of flux in the operating air gaps, is determined by the polarization of the operating voltage effective at the exciting winding 8. If the permanent magnets 6 and 7 have identical field strengths, the pivoted armature 1 correspondingly also has a symmetric switching behavior for both resting positions. If, however, a single resting position is to be provided for the pivoted armature 1, additional permanent magnets may be provided on a selected side of the relay.

As previously mentioned, the synchronization of the relay for certain response values of applied energizing fields becomes possible through a demagnetization of the permanent mangets. Inasmuch as a partial demagnetization can be performed after the relay has been assembled, the invention contemplates the provision of a step whereby finished relays of a single construction may be transformed into a plurality of relays each having a separate response value by applying to each of these relays a different magnetic field for partial demagnetization of the permanent magnets to different selected values.

While I have described my invention by reference to a specific illustrative embodiment thereof, many changes and modifications therein will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a poled relay having at least four generally parallel spaced-apart contact elements each having upper and lower surfaces, the contact elements being further spaced-apart in pairs in an end-to-end relation, wherein diagonally related ones of said contact elements are provided to complete or open a corresponding electrical circuit, an armature for completing or opening the electrical circuits and at least one permanent magnet for providing at least one polarized resting position for said armature, the improvement comprising the provision of said contact elements and said armature as magnetically conductive members, and wherein two of the endtoend elements include end sections which extend toward their diagonal counterpart contact elements, said armature including an upper surface and a lower surface and a profile wherein its surfaces are parallel to the corresponding lower and upper surfaces of said diagonally associated contact elements when said armature is in contact therewith, and wherein said armature is suspended in operable relation to the remainder of the components of the relay only by the magnetic field of said permanent magnet.

2. A polarized electromagnetic relay comprising: at least four spaced-apart electrically and magnetically conductive contact elements each having a first end and a second end, a first and a third of said contact elements generally parallel to and having their first ends directed towards the corresponding first ends of a second and a fourth of said contact elements, respectively; at least one permanent magnet disposed between two of said contact elements; an armature disposed adjacent said first ends and pivotally supported by the magnetic force of said permanent magnet, said armature being V-shaped and including upper and lower contact surfaces which are parallel to the first ends of said contact elements when said armature is in contact therewith; and means for providing magnetic fields for pivoting said armature to electrically connect selected ones of said contact elements.

3. A polarizedl electromagnetic relay comprising: at least four spaced-apart electrically and magnetically conductive contact elements each havin-g a first and a second end, a first and a third of said contact elements disposed in a substantially end-to-end relation with a second and a fourth of said contact elements; at least one permanent magnet disposed between two of said contact elements; an armature disposed adjacent said first ends and pivotally supported by the magnetic force of said permanent magnet and operatively pivotable to connect diagonally opposite ones of said contact elements; and means for providing magnetic fields for pivoting said armature to electrically connect selected ones of said contact elements.

4. A polarized electromagnetic relay comprising: at least four spaced-apart electrically and magnetically conductive contact elements each having a first end and a second end; a first permanent magnet disposed between two of said contact elements and a second permanent magnet disposed between the other two of said contact elements, said permanent magnets disposed with the same polarity and having different field strengths; an armature disposed adjacent said first ends and pivotally supported by the magnetic force of said permanent magnets; and means for providing magnetic fields for pivoting said armature to electrically connect selected ones of said contact elements.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,935,585 5/1960 Holcombe 335--82 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner R. N. ENVALL, JR., Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. XR. 335-82, 179

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CGRRECTION Patent No. 3, 525,958 Dated August 25, 1970 Inventor-(s) Ulf Rautelberg It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 28, read "2,5; 3, 4)" as (2,5; 3,4) Column 3, lines 32-33, read as effect is produced for the armature l in both possible rest positions, the magnitude of the Signed and sealed this 25th day of May 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M .FLETGHER,JR Attestng Officer WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Commissionerof Patents FORM PO-1050 (l0-6N t u,s. aoveunnzm Mmmm'. ornc: nu o-s-xu 

